难

nàn

2 readings · tap one to hear it

difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A hand 又 trying to grasp at a bird 隹

Components 又隹

difficult · Heisig RSH #644

crotch + turkey

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大难不死	dà nàn bù sǐ	to just escape from calamity
面有难色	miàn yǒu nán sè	to show signs of reluctance or embarrassment
难不成	nán bù chéng	Is it possible that ... ?
大难	dà nàn	great catastrophe
国难	guó nàn	national calamity
山难	shān nàn	mountain accident
万事开头难	wàn shì kāi tóu nán	every beginning is difficult (idiom); getting started is always the hardest part
海难	hǎi nàn	perils of the sea
在家千日好，出门一时难	zài jiā qiān rì hǎo , chū mén yī shí nán	lit. at home, one can spend a thousand days in comfort, but spending a day away from home …
难行	nán xíng	hard to pass
安难	ān nàn	(classical) (of soldiers etc) resolute in the face of adversity
难得一见	nán dé yī jiàn	rarely seen
克难	kè nán	to make do in difficult circumstances by being resourceful; (of circumstances) difficult; …
高难	gāo nán	extremely difficult; hard and dangerous; challenging
发难	fā nàn	to rise in revolt; to raise difficult questions
万事起头难	wàn shì qǐ tóu nán	the first step is the hardest (idiom)
难道	nán dào	don't tell me ...; could it be that...?
自身难保	zì shēn nán bǎo	powerless to defend oneself (idiom); helpless
难上加难	nán shàng jiā nán	extremely difficult; even more difficult
大难临头	dà nàn lín tóu	to be facing imminent calamity (idiom); disaster is looming

These characters use 难 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
难 sound part	nán	hard, difficult, arduous; unable
摊	tān	to spread out, to open, to allot; a merchant's stand
瘫	tān	paralysis, palsy, numbness
傩	nuó	rich